Ropeway car



June 12, 1923.

Y. TAMAMURA ROPEWAY CAR Filed Dec. 27, 1922 4 sheets sheet 2 June 12, 1923.

1,458,921 Y. TAMAMURA ROPEWAY CAR Filed Dec. 2'7 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 June 12, 1923. 1,458,921

Y. TAMAMURA 'ROPEWAY CAR Filed Dec. 27 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 30 tion of the ropeway varies. motions of one of the three elements'vvith rej .50 from sliding along the rope.

Patented June 12, 1923.

"YUSUKE TAMAMU'RA, or TOKYO-FU,,JAPA1\T'. I

:ROPEWAS Z can.

I Application filed December- 27,1922. sci-nine; 609,331,,

To all whom-it may concern: I Be it known that I, YUSUKE TAMAMURA,

Emperor of Japan,- residing. at No. 18 Gen- 6 bei, Totsuka-machi, 'Toyotama-gun, Toky I in, Japan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ropeway Cars, of

1 ropeway cars,-

The car according to this inventionis composed oflthree principal elements,thef Y r V M preferred embodiment ofthe' present 'invencarriage, the clip and the receptacle, each one of which being connected with the remaining" two by quadrilaterals. The clip employed in I p improved car is a so-called difierential clip, such as, described in U, S. Patent No.

850,504 patented April 16th, 1907, in the I H I I Figure 3, shows its'plan, partly in section.

British Patent No. 1565 0f11907 andin the Japanese PatentNo. 9896 of December 26th, 1905, all granted to me. Itcons'istso'f a set 0t longer and shorter lever-arms, slidingonits own shaft and forming a bisected quadri lateral. The clip engages the hauling rope 26 by'means oftwo sets'of couples induced by the action of gravity on the receptacle. The three principal elements, that is to say, the

carriage, the clip and the receptacle, all revolve around one main shaft, as the inclinaspect to the remaining two are realized, by means of quadrilaterals or bisected quadrilaterals.

which will adapt itself in accordance with the variation of the externalconditionsby means of automatic displacements of the 40 principal elements, thereby enabling th car ropeway used, the 'car according to this invention causes the 011p to engage the hauling rope completely whenthe car is about to leave a station, developingagripping-force between its jaws sufficient to'restrainthem hand, upon the arrival at a stationcthe car causes the clip to. disengage the said rope- I I I v "is provided a central slider '10 and a p a'irioff lateral sliders 11, the latter being situatedon I opposite *sides' of the; central slider 10,

"prom tly. 2. e

inclination of ropeway, the 'caradjusts itself The relative r v view 'and planrespect1vely.'

The principal object of this invention is' to I obtain a car, in every system of ropeways,"

On the other condly, in any system and in every we stable pqsaien' means or machete ,the three "principal-elements in relation'fto civil engineer, a subject of His Majesty the one another caused by'the'combined action I of the gravity, "winds, and shocks. Inv case of the double rope system, the relative, posi ti'on of the carrying and the'hauling ropes I are kept normal all thej'time. 'Thejre'sultds I I that the proportion in which the'burdenfof 7 the'load is sharedby the tworop'es remains practically undisturbed, whereby a' perfect,

balancingfof the car is always maintained;

The accompanying drawings illustrate the Figure 4 shows the planiof'the 'part the clip partly in section;- 1

Figure 5 shows 'a" back "elevation ",of my improved car forum double rop e' system appreaching the rope supporting apparatus mounted upon one of the 'standa'rds;

so Figure*6 shows thefside view of thef 'car 7 represented in Figure" 5.

" Figures .7 to 9 shown modification of a i,

invention'as applied to acar for the sing-le s5 rope system, being its? back elevation", side The car'for the double rope systemfis the' typical form of my invention-anclfthatfor the singlerop e system. is asimple modification ofthe formerl'In case of the single rope it combines initself the properties of both theicarrying and the hauling rope Thear I rangement in a single rope system" is, substa'ntia'lly the same as that in thedouble rope system, fortheprincipal elements-of the car in either casecorre'spond toone another. Referring now more particularly to the f drawings, Figures 1 to Sshow the positions assumed by my improved car forthe double rope system at thefstartingpoint of a station'. On the main suspension" rail I ride a": 1

pair of wheels 6 which. are mounted "for rofour lateral sides; Withinthe sliding-box9 i .ends of. which is connected the bail 27 .hold- Through the lower portion of the central slider 1'0which isconstructed in the form of the letter H, extends a carriage shaft 12 at each end of which is provided a side wheel 14. Between the carriage 8. and vtherearside wheel 14, the carriage shaft 12 is formed into an upward projection 13. Apin-16 running through the aperture of the end wall of the sliding box 9 connects eachof the lateral sliders 11 with a trunnion upon which A ahook bar 17 is mounted. The lateral slider 11 ,pin 16, trunnion and the hook bar 17 thus form an universal joint.

a The clip. consists of a pair-of-longerleverarms 19 and a pair of shorter lever-arms 20,

. the hea dsof which are formed into the clip- ,Hjaws 1.8 to engage, the hauling rope 5. Those clipjawsoperateon the head shaft 21 which isp-formed of two parts that screw into each other as shownlin Figure 4/, The eye of the head shaft 21 is. connected rotatably to the wheels llandtherear holder for the tail hook.bar 17 by means of a. pin 23. In this manner a parallelogram isfOrmed-by the .hook bars 17.

. ()n the. main shaft .24 are :revolvably mounted the suspension rod 25 of the receptacle 28.,thesupporting arm 29 of the'side Hpiyot of the longer lever-armsl9. The fore part of the main shaft 24. is formed into a v .crankhead 31.0n. whichthe tail pivot of the shorterlever-arms 20. is rotatably mounted.

.To.the' suspension vrod 25 are connected. a.

pair of suspension hooks. 26h) the lower ing the receptacle 28.

The supporting bars-32, 32 which constitute a parallelogram arepivotally connected porting arm 29.

at their upper .ends. with'theprojection 13 of the carriage shaft 12. and at their lower' ends with the forward projection of the sup- 3A1; the starting .point of astation, in either ,system ofropeways, the car riding -on the main rail 1 has to change its direction of .unotion from a horizontal to an incline.

consequencethereof themain rail 1 at this point must form aloent path 2 consisting of J a curved portion and an incline. When a car passes alongsuch a'bentpath 2, its forward ,wheel Gtravels along the incline ofthe main 1;ail, while the main shaft 24in thesin'gle qrope system orthe carriage shaft 12 in the double rope system will proceed horizontally along the side-rails .or rail. 3. 7 Therefore, the

axis ofthe rear. wheel 6 will describe an arc -'of; an ellipse and QtllQfitItiglit lines along -:Which the axis of the forward wheel and the .mainishaft 2 l or carriage shaft 12 respectively travel constitute the diameters ofthe -said ellipse. The doublerope system the wheels 6 run on the upper side of the bent pathv 2, while in the single rope system the I wheels 6 roll alongthe under-side of the corresponding bent path 2.

When leaving a station, the car will rush onto the bent path 2-by its own: inertia,

thereby the inclined rail 2 pressing on the wheels 6 forces the shaft 21 of the clip to become parallel toqthe hauling rope 5. 1n the case of the double rope system, as the car travels along the inclined portion of the sliding box 9, allowingthe carriage for a moment to remain stationary until the trac.- tlon of the hauling rope draws'the connecting members 32 and 17 out to their full lengths substantiallyat right angle to the main support and hauling cable.

The ropeway is so constructed that the distance between the carrying rope 4 or the in 'cline'of thebentpath 2-and' the hauling rope 5 isnarrower'than normal at thestarting point of a stationand s gradually widened until, it becomes normal at the point where the connecting members 32and 17 w illxbecomeperpendicular tolthe'ropes as the car progresses. WVhen the car resumes the angular position the carrying rope will share a due proportion of the load with the hauling rope.

From the starting point of astation toIthe point where the connecting members 32 and.

17 become perpendicular to the ropes, in the doubleropesystem, the wheels 6 entirely lose their carrying. function, the hauling rope 5 carries the total load and the whole 1 arrangement presentsthe appearance of, a

single rope system. In'the single rope system the wheels 6 which are slida'ble along the supporting rod 32 are pressed down by the inclined part of the bent rail 2. The

pressure downward of the inclined part of the bent rail 2 onthe.whe'els 6 causes'the hauling rope to press'the clip upward with equal force. Hence the stronger'the pres sure downward of the bent and inclined rail, the greater will be the pressure upward of the hauling rope. Without such pressure .upwards the clip will not grip the rope 5.

Thusit will be seen that there is no essential difference between the single and double rope systems.

On arriving at a station,the car according to my invention-is supported by means of side rails. Theclip is at the same time pulled down by the hauling rope 5, whereby the jaws 18 are opened, releasing-the hauling rope. In case of the double rope system bent path 2 is necessaryat thearriving point at a station,.but in single rope system,

because of the absence of the main rail 1 such bent path 2 is notnecessary. Inother words, in double rope systems, the bent path 2 must-be provided both at the entrance and theexit, while in the single rope system it is provided at theexit only.

In Figures '7'to 9 is shown a modification of my, improved car constructed for the use of the single rope system. Inthis-car, on itsarrival -at a station, the side wheels 14 are supported by a single side rail Thus the point ofsuspension of the car system is shifted from the rope 5 tothe side rail13 and consequentlythefcenter ofgravity of the receptacle 28 is displaced vfrom vthe vertical line passing through the rope'5 to that'passi ing through the rail '3; In order to. recover suchrdisplacement of the center of gravity,

a downward pressure must'be exerted by the rail 2 on the wheels 6 which is provided at'a greater distance from the sideuwheels l4 than the distance between the clip and the latter. Forthis purpose the jaws.;18 and I the carriage 8 which is on the opposite side of the side wheels 14, are pivotally connected by means of a pair of, hook bars 17, thecarriage being slidably mounted on the supporting bar 32. Moreover, the vertical distance of the carriage 8 from the jaws 18 and its horizontal distance from the side wheels must practically remain constant. 7 of hook bars 1'7 which connect the carriage with the head shaft 21, forms in combinationwith the shorter lever-arms 20 a bisected quadrilateral, thereby connecting the carriage with the two remaining principal elements.

In single rope system because of absence of the carrying rope, the pair of the side ing bar 33 rigidly fixed on the supporting arm 29 and the connecting bar 34 p-ivotally connected to the compression bar 35 the working bar 33 and the connecting bar 34 being pivotally connected to each other. Because of the compression spring 37 provided on the rod 36 which is an extension of the rear holder 30, the set of the above mentioned three bars is in a folded position normally and the side wheels 14 are in parallel relation to the head shaft 21. On arriving at a station, because of the coming into contact of one at first and then two of the side spring 37. On departing from a station, the

A pail set "of the side wheels14 together with the supporting arm 29 will regain their normal p'osition parallel to the-head. axis/T21 by! the action of the compression-spring37 In this" manner, the danger .ofcollision of the wheels 14 With the *rollersanounted-on the supporting apparatus isavoided.

aving :noW particularly described-"and ascertained the nature of my said invention and-in What manner the'same is to beiper-.'

formed, I declare that Whfit I claim i's .7 j 1. A ropeway car,gcom.p i i arcarriage, a clip and a receptacle and means foriinter-' connecting the said members-in-such a way that they will adjust themselvesrelatively to-each other, tormaintain theaint'ernal dy namical. equilibriunr, as vthe external condi-i" tions-vary, said means .inclndingia .main

shaft about whiehjall,said threemembers are angularly movable and a quadrilateral interconnecting. the three members. 1

2. A ropeway 'car,,compr1sing acarriage,

a clip, a"receptacle, means, for interconnect.-

ing thesaid membersin such a way that they Wlll adjustthemselves relatively to ropev each other to maintain the internal equia I librium as the external conditions vary, said means including a main shaft about which all said three members are angularly movable and a quadrilateral interconnecting the three members, and means automatically operative to effect gripping and releasing of the hauling rope by the clip, including I wheels in the carriage and an auxiliary rail disposed in the path of the carriage wheels.

3. In. a double rope system, the combination ofa car including a carriage, a clip and a receptacle,,wheels in alignment in the direction of travel at opposite endsof the car, a central slide onthe carriage movable in up and'down direction, slides on opposite sides of saidslide in the direction of travel and independently movable parallel to said slide, a shaft passing through the central slide, auxiliary wheels at opposite ends of the shaft, and'auxiliary rail'slin the path of travel of said 'a uxili'ary wheels.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 in i cluding a shaft, a support therefor and parallel motion members pivotally connected at their upper endson the first shaft and in axial alignment therewith and connected at their lower ends to'said support.

5, Apparatus accordingto claim 3 includmg armspivotally connected at their upper ends to said slides respectively and at their lower ends to the opposite ends of'a shaft defining a pivot for the two membersnof arms constituting a qadriing arms pivotally connected at their upper ends to said slides respectively and at their lower ends to the opposite ends of a pivot member: for the two members of the clip,

the long and short arms of the clip being pivotally supported on the second shaft, said arms constituting a quadrilateral to normally maintain the said pivot member in parallelism with the carriage.

7. A ropeway .car, comprising a carriage, a clip having a short and a long arm and a pivot member therefor and aquadrilateral comprising two arms pivotally connected at their upper ends to the carriage at opposite sides of the vertical longitudinal center thereof and at their lower ends to the opposite ends of said pivot member.

'8. Apparatus according to claim 7 including a shaft extending in the plane of relative movement of thearms ofthe clip, means on said shaft affording pivotal connection to the said arms, and means in the path of travel of the carriage for acting upon the said shaft to vary the relative position of the arms of the clip.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8 includinn, wheels on the carriage and auxiliary different length, means pivotally intercom necting the arms intermediate their ends, a shaft extending substantially in the plane of relative movement of the arms, separate means on the shaft pivotally connected to the arms, a carriage, a quadrilateral comprising arms pivotally connected at their upper ends with the carriage at points thereof spaced in the direction of its length and connected atrthei'r lower ends to the opposite ends of the means pivotally interconnecting the arms of the clip, and means in the path of movement of the carriage for acting upon the said shaft for Varying tpe relative position of the arms of the 0 1p.

In testimony whereof I allix my signature.

YUSUKE TAMAMU 

